The History of Tourism: Structures on the Path to Modernity by Ueli Gyr

The History of Tourism: Structures on the Path to Modernity by Ueli Gyr Various academic disciplines have repeatedly sought to re-evaluate the significance of tourism. Globalised tourism's so- cio-economic place within the framework of the leisure and holidaying opportunities on offer today has attracted particular attention. Such accounts often leave out the fact that this also has a history. The present article aims to overcome this shortcoming: it seeks to present an overview of the important structures, processes, types and trends of tourism against the background of historical developments. It deals with early forms of travel in the classical world and the Mid- dle Ages, as well as the precursors of modern tourism, Bildungsreisen ("educational journeys") and the middle-class culture of travel. It then examines the boom in mass tourism in the 19th century and the unique expansion of tourism in the 1960s characterised by new forms of holidaying and experience shaped by globalisation. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Tourism as a Globalised System 2. Early Forms of Travel and Types of Journey 3. Precursors of Modern Tourism 4. The Foundations of Modern Tourism 5. The Boom in Mass Tourism in the 19th Century 6. Holidaying Practices in the Interwar Period 7. The Expansion of Tourism and Globalisation 8. Appendix 1. Bibliography 2. Notes Citation Tourism as a Globalised System Tourism is often seen as a global phenomenon with an almost incomprehensibly massive infrastructure. Its importance is evident from the fact that its influence thoroughly penetrates society, politics, culture and, above all, the economy. In- deed, this is the branch of the global economy with the most vigorous growth: the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) estimates that in 2007 it encompassed 903 million tourists who spent 625 billion US dollars.1 They thereby supported a global system with roughly 100 million employees in the modern leisure and experience industry. There exists a com- plex, interwoven world-wide structure dedicated to satisfying the specific touristic needs of mobile individuals, groups and masses. Since its inception, tourism has polarised: it reveals numerous views ranging from the total approval of its potential for enriching self-realisation combined with recreation to critical rejection due to the belief that it causes harm through the systematic dumbing down of entertainment and avoidable environmental destruction. Ÿ1 Beginning in the early 1920s, an early theory of Fremdenverkehr – a now obsolete term for tourism – emerged in the German-speaking world that dealt mainly with business and economic problems; since the 1960s, it has been replaced by the ever-expanding field of tourism studies. This gives many disciplines the space to approach the subject of tourism, or at least aspects of it, from their own particular academic perspective. Today, tourism studies means the multi-disci- plinary bundle of academic approaches in the sense of an undisguised "transdiscipline",2 which can find different appli- cations. However, tourism studies does not exist as an integrated field of study. Instead, there are countless empirical accounts, case studies, approaches, theories and perspectives in individual disciplines, including economy, geography, psychology, architecture, ecology, sociology, political science and medicine. Ÿ2 At first, the fields of business studies and economics dominated a study of tourism that was grounded in an institutional approach;3 general accounts,4 analyses from the cultural sciences and historical surveys5 came conspicuously late. Ad- mittedly, cultural and social history, as well as historical anthropology,6 have been opening up to the questions surround- ing tourism for some time.7 However, these are perceived differently to those studies undertaken by economists and social scientists. At the same time, it is impossible to ignore the historical prerequisites and development of travelling habits and holidaying styles if one wants to understand the nature of tourism today. This is true not only of concepts and ideas associated with the topic, but also the specific insights which the disciplines employed aim to provide. Conducting historical research on tourism within the context of the discipline of history is not synonymous with the task of writing a history of tourism (or parts of it).8 Ÿ3 This article takes the second approach. It is a conscious attempt to give an overview that picks up on the classic processes, stages, types and trends of modern tourism in order to place them in the context of their historical development. In general, there is a consensus that one should understand tourism as a phenomenon of modernity and place its appearance in the context of middle-class society from about the middle of the eighteenth century. However, this does not exclude historically older, "related" forms of travel, which should at least be remembered here. Not every journey is a touristic journey; mobility has many modalities. It is sensible to separate travelling as a means to an end (for example, expulsion, migration, war, religion, trade) and travelling as an end in itself in the encoded sense of tourism (education, relaxation, leisure, free time, sociability, entertainment). Ÿ4 Early Forms of Travel and Types of Journey Recreational and educational travel already existed in the classical world and, even earlier, in Egypt under the pharaohs. In the latter, there is evidence of journeys emanating from a luxury lifestyle and the search for amusement, experience and relaxation. The privileged groups of the population cultivated the first journeys for pleasure. Their writ- ings tell us that they visited famous monuments and relics of ancient Egyptian culture, including, for example, the step pyramid of Sakkara, the Sphinx and the great pyramids of Gizeh – buildings that had been constructed a good thousand 9 years earlier. The Greeks had similar traditions. They travelled to Delphi in order to question the Oracle, participated in the Pythian Games (musical and sporting competitions) or the early Olympic Games. Herodot (485–424 B.C.) (ᇄ Me- dia Link #ab), the well-travelled writer with an interest in both history and ethnology who visited Egypt, North Africa, the Black Sea, Mesopotamia and Italy, pioneered a new type of research trip.10 Ÿ5 Classical Rome also gave impetus to travelling and particular forms of holiday. Holiday travel became increasingly important due to the development of infrastructure. Around 300 A.D., there existed a road network with 90,000 kilometres of major thoroughfares and 200,000 kilometres of smaller rural roads. These facilitated not only the transport of soldiers and goods, but also private travel. Above all, wealthy travellers seeking edification and pleasure benefited from this system. In the first century after Christ, there was a veritable touristic economy which organised travel for individu- 11 als and groups, provided information and dealt with both accommodation and meals. The well-off Romans sought relaxation in the seaside resorts in the South or passed time on the beaches of Egypt and Greece. The classical world did not only have the "bathing holiday", but also developed an early form of "summer health retreat" in swanky thermal baths and luxury locations visited by rich urban citizens during the hot months. Something that had its origins primarily in healthcare soon mutated into holidays for pleasure and entertainment, which could also include gambling and prostitu- tion. The decline of the Roman Empire caused the degeneration of many roads. Travel became more difficult, more dangerous and more complicated. Ÿ6 The mobility of mediaeval corporate society was shaped by its own forms and understandings of travel tailored to di- verse groups, including merchants, students, soldiers, pilgrims, journeymen, beggars and robbers. From the twelfth century, the movement of errant scholars became increasingly important. Journeys to famous educational institutions in France (Paris, Montpellier), England (Oxford) and Italy (Bologna) became both a custom and a component of education. The desire to experience the world emerged as an individual, unique guiding principle. Travelling tuned from a means into an end: now, one travelled in order to learn on the road and developed in doing so a love of travel and life that not infrequently crossed over into licentiousness and the abandonment of mores. With regard to the motivation for travel, one can see here an important process with long-term repercussions – travelling and wandering has, since then, been seen as a means of confronting oneself and achieving self-realisation."Das subjektive Reiseerlebnis wird zu einem Kennzeichen der beginnenden Neuzeit: auf Reisen erlebt das eigene Ich seine Befreiung."12 Ÿ7 The journeyman years of trainee craftsmen can be seen as a counterpart to those errant students "studying" at the "uni- versity of life". The travels of journeymen were part of the highly traditional world of artisan and guild structures, for which documentation exists from the middle of the 14th century. Beginning in the 16th century, the guilds prescribed the common European practice of journeying as an obligatory element of training, often lasting three to four years. This sur- vived as an institution with a rich and highly regimented set of codes well into the 18th century. The fundamental idea was that one could mature and learn while travelling, experience the world and improve one's craft in order to grow through a test and return as an accomplished man. The fact that not all journeymen were successful and often suffered terrible fates is evident from reports of an "epidemic of journeymen" that circulated in the 17th and 18th centuries.13 Ÿ8 Precursors of Modern Tourism An early form and precursor of modern tourism was the grand tour undertaken by young nobles between the 16th and 18th centuries. (ᇄ Media Link #ad) This possessed its own, new structures that were clearly defined by corporate sta- tus: the original goal was to broaden one's education, mark the end of childhood and acquire and hone social graces; however, over time, leisure and pleasure became increasingly important.

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